character development

That exact thought flashed through my mind the other day when I was waiting for the metro in D.C. to go home after a night out with some of my girlfriends. I look to the left, and there’s this guy, and he looked EXACTLY like I picture Nathaniel, one of the main characters in my novel. It was uncanny, but very cool at the same time. Of course, it does not happen very often that you see a personification of a character that you have been writing next to you on the subway platform. I could still kick myself for not saying hello to the guy … but what was I gonna say? “Hey, I am writing a book, and you look EXACTLY like one of my main characters?” Even through it’s true, it sounds like THE worst pick-up line EVER! So of course I didn’t say anything … I really hope I will run into him again, but I am not sure I would be better prepared next time.

After this admittance of having no courage to approach people I think are cute, I am getting to my actual topic: Although you don’t usually see your characters walking/standing around in flesh and blood, you can use bits and pieces of the people around you to shape your characters, to give them personality, background, and authenticity. You can draw a lot of inspiration from strangers and friends/acquaintances alike. Maybe there’s this really tall guy walking by, and just the way he carries his briefcase reminds you of your villain (my apologies to all tall men with briefcases out there … I am sure you are not all that bad :P). Maybe one of your friends has a character trait that works perfectly for one of your characters. For example, a good friend of mine is one of the sweetest, kindest and most honest people you will ever meet, and those particular attributes perfectly describe Cameron, one of the good guys in my novel. Cameron tries hard to be a friend to Kyra, whom he loves -which -of course- is good for the story as it creates tension, and not just between him and Kyra.

It also works the other way ’round: Say you have a character (or need a character) but are not quite sure yet how you can give him/her more personality and depth; next time that happens, focus on what’s going on around you, whether you are on the subway, in the grocery store or just walking around. There’s so much inspiration out there that’s just waiting to be found, and suddenly you come up with all kinds of great ideas on how to develop your character and also plot.

So the next time you walk around, or ride the metro, or are just sipping your cup of coffee, have a look around and just observe. You’d be surprised how many little things will stand out.

While I was taking a break from editing my novel manuscript the other day, I started working on another story that is part of a project I am working on together with Timewalkerauthor. After give or take 6000 words, I came across the oh-so-dreaded

… [pause for dramatic effect] …

PP: the Plot-Problem!

We’ve all encountered PPs one way or another. You really don’t have to write an actual story with an intricate plot to feel stuck at some point. I lost count of the times that I sat over an article I was writing and simply could not figure out how to go on.

In case of my story, the PP was actually caused by my characters running wild. They just did not want to follow the direction I had outlined for them. While this is actually a good thing for character development, it’s terrible when they maneuver themselves into a situation that they can’t possibly get out of –much less in a story that is supposed to be a novella (around 60k words) and not a trilogy that gives the characters time to dig themselves out of their hole. In any case, my protagonist managed to get herself and the other main characters into a situation that would have required them to take on the entire Department of Defense. And despite the fact that this is a SciFi story, it would not have gone over well. If I allowed them to do that, then the story would come to a really quick end: People apprehended, locked away forever, the end. Not exactly what I was going for.

So, how do you solve a PP? Oftentimes, I cut entire paragraphs (and just put them at the end of the document … you never know when they might come in handy again) and start to re-write the story from a point that still makes sense and allows the characters to go into a different direction. So far, so good, but unfortunately there’s one flaw to this solution: My characters are as stubborn as I am. So even though I am pleading with them to explore new avenues, they just give me this look of defiance and are pretty much like “No. I will take on the DoD, and if it’s the last thing I do!”
To which I have to say: “Well, it will most likely be the last thing you do, so forget about it.”
With that, I usually close the laptop and leave them be for a while until I feel that I can reason with them.

That time has come now, so if you’ll excuse me, I have some characters to reign in.